Worcester's aging water system is reliable, but has vulnerabilities - Gate House

By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

November 18. 2012 6:00AM

Worcester's aging water system is reliable, but has vulnerabilities

PHOTO/ T&G Staff/PAUL KAPTEYN

The Holden Reservoir No. 1 on Reservoir Street in Holden is one of the reservoirs that is part of Worcester's water system.

In 1845, the Worcester Aqueduct Co. was established to pipe water from Bladder Pond, now known as Bell Pond, to some of the nearby households in the Belmont Street area.

Until then, the 10,000 or so residents of Worcester, then a town, depended on private wells.

Worcesterites, however, weren't enamored with the newfangled way of getting water and only about 60 families signed up for the service.

However, concerns about water quality, brought about by rapid resident growth, prompted town fathers in 1864 to expand the nascent water delivery system by constructing the 228-million-gallon Lynde Brook Reservoir.

Water, “pure as from a fountain,” was pumped from the new waterway, and a year later officials decided to form the Worcester Water Works.

Today, 590 miles of piping snake about the city delivering water to thousands of commercial and residential customers from watersheds and a reservoir system that stretches through Princeton, Rutland, Holden, Paxton and Leicester.

Though it is nearing its 150th birthday, city officials continue to express faith in the aging system, even in the wake of the recent major West Side water main break that left the city without water for hours.

“We know what the vulnerabilities of the system are and we can play the 'what if' game,” said Department of Public Works and Parks Commissioner Robert L. Moylan Jr. “The fact of the matter is that Worcester's system is reliable.”

On Monday, a 30-inch cast iron water line near Chandler and May streets, which was constructed in 1932, failed — flooding the area, including the Worcester State University campus.

Officials are still trying to determine a cause, as well as estimate the damage.

The size of the line and the required repairs forced the DPW to shut the water gates that feed water to the city.

Many homes and businesses had no water through the evening and the following morning hours. Some whose water didn't go off experienced low or almost no potable flow through their faucets and taps.

State environmental officials slapped on a boil water order, as work crews made repairs.

Mr. Moylan said the break was a “worst case scenario” for the system.

He said the only things that might have made the incident more catastrophic were cold weather and a timeline in which the break was detected much later.

In the latter scenario, more of the system's infrastructure could have been destroyed.

“Overall, I was extremely pleased with how the system reacted,” Mr. Moylan said.

He said the major problem in dealing with the break was the location.

“It was located in the area that I call the 'central nervous system' of our water delivery operation,” he said.

He said the break happened in the major corridor that brings water flow from the reservoirs to the north and west of the city, down Olean Street, through the Tatnuck neighborhood, and into the lower Chandler Street area.

According to DPW officials, most of Worcester's system was built in the 1920s and 1930s, although some pipes date back to the mid 19th century.

They said the system is considered “middle-aged.”

It is made up of a mix of cast iron and ductile iron pipes. Ductile pipes, which are installed now, are considered better because they are flexible and more resilient to temperature and water flow extremes.

Officials said the city is in good shape because between $6 million to $7 million is spent annually on maintenance and upgrading.

They said it would be nearly impossible to replace the system because of the exorbitant cost.

The cost, they said, would be borne by taxpayers because the federal government no longer offers grant money for such work. Instead, money is loaned to municipalities at a 2 percent interest rate.

“The fact is that the federal government has taken a walk when it comes to these kinds of projects,” Mr. Moylan said.